SNL: S31E14... HOST: MATT DILLON... DATE: MARCH 11, 2005

or...

The No Fun Fisherman Host

 

Though I used to like Matt Dillon when I was young because of the movie The Outsiders, I went into this viewing with a very negative outlook of our host because I’ve never been able to see him the same after his episode of my favorite short live show called, Fishing With John. This was a show where musician/moviemaker John Lurie took quirky celebrities out on fishing trips to exotic locations. Where all of the other guests were great and played along, Matt Dillon seemed so scared that he’d end up looking stupid that he barely participated at all.

This was extremely disappointing because I didn’t feel Matt Dillon was a proper fit amongst the likes of Jim Jarmusch, Tom Waits, Willem Defoe, and Dennis Hopper in the first place. His unwillingness to play along changed the way I looked at him as an actor to where I was no longer a fan. Not that I was a huge fan, to begin with. Other than The Outsiders, I just didn’t mind the guy for his bad guy roles in comedic films.

I wish I could say that this visit changed my mind but I just can watch the guy without thinking that his uptight ass was just there to promote and not to have real fun. I think that minus these prejudices it was an okay show but it did feel more like I was watching a politician and not someone who makes money off of his acting skills.

Aside from this grudge with the host, I felt the content that made up the night was actually pretty good. I mean, I was actually entertained by a sketch that was solely focused on sports. There was an SNL Digital Short about doppelgangers which is a topic I love to explore, the Two A-holes were fun, and I laughed pretty hard during the sushi sketch when Maya Rudolph called Dillon a douche in a tone that felt like it was real, or at least through my ears it did.

This was one of the rare occasions where I know for a fact that my bias against the host led to the negative reveal. Then again, every other time I’ve had these biases against the host, it’s because I can’t stand them as people let alone actors. When it comes to Matt Dillon, my hatred is more of a joke just because ruined one episode of my favorite obscure show that only had six episode available in the first place.

So, I guess when everything is said and done, this was a much better episode than this review may make it sound. You can judge for yourself after you read what I have to say as if now time for me to give you…

The Wicker Breakdown:

  1. This week's show started with a group of college on their way to Spring Break In Cancun who all gabbed about their crazy plans for this debaucherous break from school while the non-college normals were forced to listen in. The biggest joke of the sketch was the reveal that the normals involved were a couple of the girl's moms and dads who drove them to the airport and hung out to see them off. Of course, with this being the opening sketch, it eventually ended with the gaggle of girls announcing, “ Live from New York…”

  2. Matt Dillon then officially opened the show with a monolog that started with the usual host pleasantries that were followed by our host reading his hate-filled acceptance speech that he didn’t get to use at the Oscars from when he was nominated for his role in Crash where he played a hate-filled cop.

  3. This was followed by a fake ad for prisonmates.net which was an online dating site for women who wanted to make conjugal visits to prisons.

  4. This was followed by a parody of Sportscenter where Kenan Thompson played, guest, Barry Bonds to deny his steroid use in the midst of the MLB steroid scandal. Even though he claimed to never take the drug, evidence of its side effect kept popping up throughout the entire interview segment. We also heard from Matt Dillon who played Bond’s trainer that was accused of giving him the drug and also showed evidence of being on the juice as was the Giant’s mascot.

  5. We then got another SNL Digital Short called Doppelganger where Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg, and Will Forte nervously scanned a park for their doppelgangers during their outdoor work lunch. Though there were exact matches for Seth and Will, where they played their own look-alikes when it came to Andy the other two spotted a homeless looking Horatio Sanz and claimed that he was Andy’s evil twin. Andy didn’t agree, and when he went to stand side by side to make a comparison, Seth and Will couldn’t tell who was who. This led to the classic routine where, for some reason, Will Forte pulled out a gun to sort out who was the real Samberg. Of course, he shot Andy, and the two took on Horatio as their new replacement friend.

  6. Two A-holes At A Travel Agency brought the return of Jason Sudeikis and Kristin Wiig as their hilarious A-hole characters this time to vapidly plan a trip with a travel agent, Matt Dillon.

  7. How To Order Sushi Like A CEO was a fake ad for a business advice book where Matt Dillon played the CEO/Author who knew all of the jargon involved in ordering sushi even though it turns out that he’s not a huge sushi fan.

  8. This was followed by a fake ad for J.J. Casuals from earlier in the season where Andy Samberg played singer Jack Johnson to promote his brand of shoes that look like bare feet for those laidback folks who need to get around the no shoes, no shirt, no service rule.

  9. Joplin: Alive Podcast had Jason Sudeikis and Bill Hader as two podcast hosts who record their show from a booth at the local Bennigan’s, where they interview their friends while trying to hit on all the waitresses whenever they got the chance.

  10. Arctic Monkeys then took to the stage to perform I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.

  11. Once again, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler gave us the news. This week, Horatio Sanz dropped by as a spokesperson for Dubai who kept dropping funny pop culture references while commenting on George W. Bush and the fact that he reneged the US port proposal. Will Forte also stopped by as a Mideast expert to sing an informative jingle in his effort to help differentiate Shai, Sunnis, and Kurds.

  12. TV Land Variety Vault then returned with an installment called The Vincent Price St. Patrick’s Day Special which was pretty much like the Thanksgiving edition only with the cast impersonating a new set of quirky guests from the past.

  13. Inner Harmony Relaxation Tape took us to a recording session for a relaxation tape where Matt Dillon played the voice-over actor who kept trying to improvise and often talk loud, completely unaware that these additions actually defeated the purpose of the project.

  14. We then went back to the Appalachian Emergency Room for more of the same fun and game with a bunch of injured rednecks.

  15. Arctic Monkeys then returned to the stage to perform A Certain Romance.

  16. DeCicco Brothers Unicornery had Matt Dillon and Bill Hader as two pitchmen who attempted to sell unicorns of all shapes and sizes to meet every one of their customer's bizarre needs.

  17. Finally, Matt Dillon closed the show by thanking the audience and saying his goodnights.

Though I have novelty issues with tonight’s host, tonight still turned out to be pretty fun thanks to sketches like these that contained my three favorite moments of the night. First, I loved How To Order Sushi Like A CEO because it got me to laugh hard and loud when Maya Rudolph called Matt Dillon a douche right after I decided to share my Fishing With John-based feud. Next, I really liked the SNL Digital Short: Doppelganger because I’m obsessed with the concept of doppelganger since sometimes I feel like I’m someone else’s evil twin who’s ruining both their life and mine. Finally, I was a fan of Two A-holes At A Travel Agency because I love this series of sketches and wouldn’t be surprised if it always ends up making my favorites list whenever a new one comes on.

 
 

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